Mental-health care has come a long way since the remedy of choice was trepanation — drilling holes into the skull to release “evil spirits.” Over the last 30 years, treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy and family-based treatment have been shown effective for ailments ranging from anxiety and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders.

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Why the gap? According to Dianne Chambless, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, some therapists see their work as an art, a delicate and individualized process that works (or doesn’t) based on a therapist’s personality and relationship with a patient. Others see therapy as a more structured process rooted in science and proven effective in both research and clinical trials.

In an age when all branches of health care face increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies, APS Fellow Dean McKay, Evan M. Forman, Brett Thombs, and David F. Tolin emphasize the need to back mental-health interventions with hard, empirical evidence. The crucial first step, they agree, will be revising guidelines for determining whether a treatment qualifies as empirically sound.

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) will host its 49th Annual Convention November 12–15, 2015, in Chicago. ABCT is a diverse yet specialized group of behavioral and cognitive experts, including […]